Nanite

A nanite was built by manipulating atoms and contained gigabytes of computer memory. It was small enough to enter living cells and could be programmed to do numerous tasks. Nanites were used by the Federation for medical purposes and were designed to work inside nucleii during cellular surgery. When they were not used, nanites were stored in a non-functional state. When necessary nanites could be destroyed with a burst of high-level gamma radiation.

Nanites consisted of several components with different functions. Nanites used in the 24th century are composed of a forward propulsion block, an Oneamisu receiver, a Ranma ½ gyro block, a hex growth stack, Otomo calibration, two reverse flow paddles, one cell membrane sensor and manipulator each, a telemetry antenna, a forward motion sensor, a crystal articulator, logic circuits arranged from A-F and G-L, a T-cell antireceptor and an emergency dissolve system.

The components were seen on an LCARS display of nanites, seen in TNG: "Evolution". Several of them contain anime (Japanese animation) references. The Otomo calibration is most likely to Japanese director Katsuhiro Ôtomo, the Oneamisu receiver is likely a reference to "Ôritsu uchûgun Oneamisu no tsubasa", and the Ranma ½ gyro block refers to Ranma ½, a 1987-1996 manga (Japanese comics) that inspired several animated series and movies.

In 2366Wesley Crusher experimented with nanites aboard the USS Enterprise-D to see if he could enhance their capabilities, by letting them work together. When these nanites escaped they entered the Enterprisecomputer core where they multiplied and interfered with almost all ship operations. Their increasing numbers allowed them to develop collective intelligence. When Doctor Paul Stubbs tried to kill them in order to prevent interference with his scientific experiments, the nanites retaliated by taking over control of the Enterpriselife support systems and even tried to kill him. The targeted nature of these actions became proof of sentience and they became perceived as lifeforms. The destruction of the Enterprise was prevented by Data who was able to talk to the nanites and as their spokesman was able to come to an agreement with CaptainJean-Luc Picard. The enhanced nanites repaired the damage to the ship's computers and were then transfered to Kavis Alpha IV, where they founded their own civilization. (TNG: "Evolution")

Many species have researched nanotechnology for various applications; the Denobulans were said to use advanced nanotech in medicine in the 22nd century. Another known nanite-like device is the nanoprobe, used by the Borg for many purposes including the probing and assimilation of foreign species and technologies.

The plan to use nanites against the Borg is mentioned in the novel Vendetta, where it is revealed that the nanites are now legally protected as their apparent sentience caused many to argue that using them against the Borg as a weapon would be violating their rights, La Forge accepting the argument when Data points out that it is essentially the same as having him dismantled and copied simply to create new versions of him to fight the Borg.